FIFA has announced that Indonesia will no longer be hosting the Under-20 football World Cup due to protests against Israel’s participation, which led to the cancellation of the main event of the tournament.
On Wednesday, the international governing body of football announced its decision after a meeting with Erick Thohir, the President of the Indonesian football federation (PSSI). They declared that a different country would be selected to host the tournament “as soon as possible” since it is scheduled to begin on May 20.
The Indonesian football federation (PSSI) cancelled the tournament draw on Sunday because the governor of Bali, which is mostly a Hindu island, declined to host Israel’s team.
Being the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia does not maintain official diplomatic ties with Israel, and instead, it openly backs the Palestinian cause.
“FIFA has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the FIFA U-20 World Cup 2023,” a FIFA statement said.
“A new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the dates of the tournament currently remaining unchanged. Potential sanctions against the PSSI may also be decided at a later stage.”
Indonesian citizens marched in the capital city of Jakarta earlier this month, brandishing flags of Indonesia and Palestine and protesting, urging that Israel should not be permitted to take part in the tournament.
On Tuesday, Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo spoke against mixing matters of “sports and politics”.
“I hereby guarantee Israel’s participation has nothing to do with the consistency of our foreign policy position towards Palestine, because our support for Palestine is always strong and sturdy,” he said.
